Police arrest suspect after assault on couple

Spokane Police arrested a suspected drug dealer accused of taking the law into his own hands and beating a couple he thought had stolen his cash and stash.

The man and woman went to Lawrence Adams' home on East Queen to buy some crack cocaine. What they didn't know is a dealer who lives at a different address was inside waiting for them in a back bedroom.

After they walked in, police say Adams, 27, attacked them with a heavy metal pipe. Witnesses said Adams accused the couple of burglarizing his apartment and stealing drugs and thousands of dollars in cash.

The man was beaten so badly his girlfriend rushed him to Holy Family Hospital where doctors found cuts in his face and head that went all the way to the bone.

Inside the emergency room the woman told police Adams had cut off her hair and later claimed she was raped with a foreign object so she would "never forget what she did."

Police, who arrested Adams two days later, said the savage attack is unfortunately the way the drug world operates.

"The victim in this case had burglarized the person who assaulted him and that person retaliated and it was money related to drugs, so it was a drug related assault," Spokane Police Lieutenant Mark Griffiths said.

Police have not charged Adams with rape as they are still investigating the female victim's claims she was held down and sexually assaulted.

Adams is being held in the Spokane County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond.